


Kings of the World.

by thetinyphoenix



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Arranged Marriage, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Forced Marriage, Implied/Referenced Cheating, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Jealousy, Love at First Sight, M/M, References to Canon, Song: My Heart Will Go On (Céline Dion), Titanic References, Titanic!AU, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-17
Updated: 2019-11-17
Packaged: 2021-02-08 05:17:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21470674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thetinyphoenix/pseuds/thetinyphoenix
Summary: April 10, 1912.Steve Harrington is a young aristocrat who falls in love with Billy Hargrove, a poor but kind-hearted artist, aboard the luxurious, unsinkable and largest boat afloat of all time: the RMS Titanic.
Relationships: Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington, Robin Buckley & Original Character(s), Unrequited Tommy H./Steve Harrington
Comments: 4
Kudos: 34





	Kings of the World.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! 
> 
> Here is my first fic on this site.
> 
> It is a Harringrove (Steve Harrington/Billy Hargrove) AU, based on the movie Titanic (1997) and on billysfreckles' prompt.  
Dialogues and scenes will be inspired by the movie, though some of them might be deleted/replaced to slowly drift away from the canon plot (or else it would not be fun). The ending will not be the same (or will it?).
> 
> English is not my first language, so I hope this will be clear and well-written enough for you!  
The updates may take some times, for I'm trying to be a good student (and miserably failing at it, but we don't talk about that). Be sure to subscribe!  
Comments are always welcomed/appreciated in order to help me improve this work!
> 
> I hope you'll like it.

April 10, 1912.

The docks of Southampton, England, were crowded. That was the first thing Sam Owens, the Hathaway family’s personal chauffeur, grumbled as his expensive Renault painfully pushed his way through the mass of people looking up, up, up. A giant boat was tied up alongside the pier, white and shining under the pale, shy sun of this early afternoon, and the curtains, shielding the passengers of the car from the outside, undulated briefly as two brown, doe eyes peeked outdoor.

When the car stopped, a valet came to open the door for a young man, tall and elegant in the tight black corset he wore, supporting and shaping the waistline and hips of him nicely, so he’d get out of the car. Steve Harrington was turning nineteen in a few months and looked more beautiful than ever, his delicate features looking up at the Titanic, facing it for a while, as if to prove the world he was feeling as secured, as solid as this enormous boat. He raised a brow, expression unreadable.

The journey had been incredibly long, and he had honestly grown tired of hearing Thomas Hathaway, his fiancé, talking. His thumbnail was all bitten by now, due to the unease of just sitting here in silence, hearing the other’s words but not paying attention or not actually listening either. He had nothing to say to his future husband, in all honesty, and was frankly past the point where it made him sad. Steve wasn’t stupid. He knew their marriage would never last anyway. He did not feel anything close to affection towards Thomas, and the other male only loved the beauty of his youth, the recklessness he still thought he would tame; but they’d eventually just end up being strangers who shared nothing more than two rings and empty promises. If that wasn’t the case already.

At some point, the incredible and rich (or rather incredibly rich, if anything) Tommy H. would turn cold and grumpy, and fuck cheap whores when getting drunk at bars while Steve would be raising their kids like the good, unhappy spouse he was supposed to be, waiting for his husband to get home, smelling like low-cost booze and other women’s (or men’s, for that matter) perfumes, too spent to even try touching the brunette. And it wouldn’t be like it would necessarily bother the latter, after all, because then he wouldn’t have to go to bed to Thomas and pretend to enjoy it when they’d make love, if this could be called that.

For a moment, Steve wondered what it would feel like to be loved unconditionally, forever. But he then quickly got back to listening to the _bon voyage!_ wishes and teary shouts, looking at all the passengers already on the deck and waving to the men and women about to stay here in England, while yelling back at them they’ll send a letter from America as soon as they would arrive.

“I definitely don’t understand why everyone has been talking about it for months. I’m pretty sure I remember the Mauretania boat being bigger.” he muttered, looking up at the gigantic structure of the ship he was about to embark on, actually pretty convinced that these pillars could touch the sky.

“Come on, Steve. You cannot be blasé about something as amazing as the Titanic. Look at this boat! It is several hundred feet long, at least, and the largest ship afloat of all time. Even in your wildest dreams, the Mauretania could never compare. This boat, Steve, this boat has ten decks, and the passenger facilities definitely can meet the highest standards of luxury. I’m sure you’ll find something to please you.”

Thomas was a handsome man, always well-dressed and with freckles all over his face. Only a year or two older than Steve was, it however seemed like he was already a bit more advanced in his early twenties, for his face would have looked somehow younger if his expression wasn’t so stern. The leaner male turned his head, unable to look at his fiancé any longer. It was the ship of dreams... to pretty much everyone else. To Steve, this boat was just a slave ship, taking him back to America in chains, tying him to an unhappy future.

“Your son is too hard to impress, Milady.”

He heard Tommy joking as he went to grab Mrs. Harrington’s arm, helping her getting out of the expensive white Renault before the valet could even move a finger; while Steve had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. She only shook his head disapprovingly as she looked at said son, her lips pinched in a small irritated pout before she turned back towards the freckled male, a rather charming smile on her face. This kind of fake grin that made Steve tense a little and look away once more, gaze falling on a little girl crying and hugging her dad, softening when he heard the man tell her he was going to come back so soon she’d even forget he’d left in the first place.

The thing was, the brunette didn’t need to be impressed. He needed to be ( seen ).

“I heard this ship is unsinkable.” his mother stated, her voice pompous and obviously trying to get along with the man who would marry her son as soon as they’d set foot in America. So damn hypocrite, Steve thought for himself as he extended his hand for Heather, his maid and friend, to take. He did not give a damn about social etiquette – or at least not when it concerned who he was allowed to consider a close friend or not, and he purposely ignored the look on his fiancé and mother’s face as he let go of the young woman’s slender fingers.

“It is. See, my lady, Jai Andrews designed this boat, and he definitely is the best chief naval architect of the century, without any doubt. My dad used to meet his every Saturday in London so they would talk business.” Tommy bragged, and Steve had to bite his tongue not to let out a loud, frustrated whine, knowing this wasn’t the most courteous thing to do. His maid noticed, obviously, knowing damn well how her best friend could turn out to be, and she let out a soft giggle, which she tried to cover with her hand.

“Perhaps I’m a little impressed.” he whispered, only for his confident to hear, and she just laughed a bit before going to help the valets and butlers find the baggage so they’d bring it to their suite, hurrying them up so everything would be ready as soon as the family she served would enter the richly decorated rooms.

After a rather pretentious “Steve, Mrs. Harrington, follow me.”, Tommy led the way to the first class aisle, letting his valet, Martin Brenner, take care of the luggage left. Reluctantly, Steve took the freckled man’s free arm, willing to go rest in his room and look through the new paintings he had bought a week before. Mud puddles, Thomas had called them, unworthy of the few hundredth of dollars it had cost him to please his fiancé. Cheap art, really, while Steve had remained in awe, fascinated by the colours, by the curves and lines. He liked the Monet of water lilies the most, as well as this brutally truthful one, illogical and raw. Picasso.

Once again, Tommy interrupted his thoughts.

“I really think you should have changed this outfit, Steve. What were you thinking when you decided to wear black on sailing day, my dove? You know they say it is bad luck.”

“I felt like black.” he whispered.

Outwardly, Steve was everything a well brought up young man should be. Inside, he was screaming.

*

The two Swedish players were arguing, grand gestures and roll of eyes _au rendez-vous_ while an Irish girl at the counter was trying to get three beers for free, flirting with Maddie, the pretty bartender, who was, unfortunately enough, immune to her charms.

“Hit me again, Sven.” she heard the boy she was accompanying say, the words half-muffled as he was pinching a cigarette between his lips as he talked. She tried to insist in order to get those three beers, but gave up when she saw the stern look on Maddie’s face, her curse muted by the loud whistle blows coming from the decks. She peeked outside of the smoky inside of the bar, and saw the giant metallic structure a few hundred metres away, smiling wide while imagining how it must be like to travel in such a luxurious boat.

She walked back to her table, where four guys were playing poker. Two Swedes, tall and with broad shoulders, were arguing in their native tongue, her twin and best friend sat in front of them, the latter with a particularly unreadable expression. Between the four players were a decent amount of bills and foreign coins, with three third-class tickets for the Titanic. Her eyes sparkled a moment as she remembered the boat she was just eyeing a few minutes earlier. The Irish girl sat on her sibling’s laps, grabbed the cards laid down in front of them, and frowned slightly when she saw the poor poker hand. Nothing.

“Let’s see. Buckley’s got nothing. Same goes for Olaf. Sven… Sven’s got two pairs…” she heard, eyes fixed on the damn third-class tickets, trying not to get her hopes becoming too high.

“Buckley number one, Buckley number two, I’m sorry.” the blonde boy sitting next to her continued.

“Sorry? What you got? Hargrove, I swear to God if you lost our money, you fucking _eejit_ . . .” Kian, her twin, began, only to be interrupted by a grinning Californian boy.

“ . . . I’m sorry cause you guys ain’t gonna see your mom again for a long time.”

On that, said Hargrove slapped down a full house on the table.

“We’re going to America! Full house, babies!”

Robin Buckley stood up so quickly she nearly fell, and her hip bumped against the wooden table as she perceived the excited shouts of her brother between two Swedish yells and the harsh sound of a slap, and the three best buds hurried up so they’d gather as much of the coins and dollar bills as possible, Billy grabbing the three tickets to give them a kiss.

He was going back home.

Robin Buckley jumped on her brother’s back and they cheered, Maddie agreeing to offering her a beer and getting a big, sloppy kiss on the cheek which made her laugh, while Kian kept chanting about how his destiny was awaiting for him in America, or some shit like that, until the pubkeeper shook his head and told them they better hurry up if they didn’t want to miss the departure five minutes later.

Neither of them had ever run that fast in their lives, and as they reached the bottom of the ramp, one officer was already detaching it at the top, ready to go. On the deck, next to them, was an Italian guy, seemingly looking for someone to come – surely two Swedes, still fighting in a foggy pub over three damn lost tickets.

“We’re passengers!!” they yelled, panting and waving the three tickets, though the officer just stared at them for a moment, before asking whether they had been inspected or not. The twins looked at each other with slightly widening eyes, but this obviously didn’t stop Billy Hargrove, who just lied blatantly, all smiling and damn charming.

“Sure. Anyway, we’re Americans!”

And maybe Jonathan Byers did doubt these words, but he still shook his head with a sigh, and let them in.

*

“You know somebody?” Robin asked Billy with a frown as she saw him wave at the crowd left on the docks, mimicking the teary farewells of their neighbours, yelling goodbye and “I’ll miss you!” to those strangers, knowing there was nothing left for him in this shithole anyway.

“Of course not. Doesn’t matter, though. C’mon!”

On that, the twins joined him.

Looking at the gigantic boat who was getting smaller the more it progressed, little Serena, who didn’t know her father lied earlier that day, waved back at the passengers until she couldn’t see them, still naively believing her dad would come home soon.

Little did Billy, Robin and Kian known, though, as they started running on the decks.

“ I can already see the Statue of Liberty. Very small, of course!” one of the twins exclaimed, causing Billy to scoff loudly.

Once they were at the bow, leaning forward and looking down at the water, the Irish girl pointed at something in it, swearing she’d just seen a few dolphins. The boys just laughed at her, definitely not believing what she was saying until a few aquatic creatures appeared and jumped out of the water in a cheering way, diving back in almost immediately, crisscrossing in front of the ship and having fun. The Californian grinned and soon enough, he stepped on the railing of the boat, standing tall and steady on both his feet as he spread his arms in a graceful stance.

He laughed, and the sound got lost in the wind.

**“I’m the King of the world!”**

*

Later that day, around six or seven, Billy was sitting on a bench, the golden light of the sunset bathing him in a soft, welcoming halo. On his pulled-up knees was resting a sketching pad, and his brows were slightly frowned as he drew, each stroke stable and precise. He definitely wasn’t paying much attention to his surroundings, too caught up in his drawing and casting quick glances at his muse from time to time. On the paper, the shape of a tall woman and her son could be distinguished already, though the grey pencil he was using couldn’t really give any colour nor life to their piercing blue eyes of the pair, whose oceanic hues reminded him of sea on which they were cruising. The woman was wearing a long white and second-hand dress with blue and red flowers on it, and, on top of her blonde and wavy hair, a worn-out hat with a blue ribbon. Watching the seagulls, pointing at them with a kind smile, the young mum then looked down tenderly at the little boy who was smiling next to her and she laughed when he exclaimed these waves had to be at least seven feet tall.

Billy smiled.

The sketch was near perfect, accurate and beautiful, and Billy was good. He was really good. Robin looked over his shoulder and nodded with an appreciative smile, elbowing her brother so he’d look, and he only shrugged with a “ I really don’t know shit about art, but that shit’s álainn, uh”.

The Californian wasn’t listening to them, though, but he still heard the loud barking of maybe five or six dogs being taken out, walking around the third-class deck with Jared, the polyvalent butler of the boat and a close friend of Jai Andrews. Billy frowned, and as he opened his mouth to ask why these first-class dogs were here, a scowling young French emigrant already replied in good English, but with an accent too strong to remain unnoticed:

“Typical. They come here to take a shit.”

“Pretty much of a reminder of where we rank in the scheme of things, I guess.” Billy then retorted with a snort.

“Like we could forget.”

They both looked at each other, the French girl scoffing a little as she placed her cigarette back between her lips, before extending her hand for Billy to shake.

“I’m Lilou, by the way.”

“Billy Hargrove, _enchanté_.” the boy introduced himself, mimicking the noble stance of a first-class passenger, chin raised high and definitely making fun of the people walking on the higher deck.This was about all he knew how to say in French, but she still smiled wide. They laughed. Robin then introduced herself, not without forgetting her usual “and this is my dumb brother Kian” as she gestured towards Kian, and they talked about Billy’s drawings for a moment, the French emigrant asking whether he was selling them or not. Billy shook his head, and glanced across the well deck. At the aft railing was a boy around his age, with a tight lacy corset, not too rare for a man his class to wear, and suddenly, the Californian found himself unable to take his eyes off of him. About sixty feet apart, he could still clearly see the other male’s beautiful face, and the distance felt like too much.

The three other third-class passengers noticed his abrupt distraction, and followed his gaze, and the two girls of the small group smiled at each other while Kian whistled, unfortunately too loudly since the brunette turned his head in their direction. Billy elbowed his friend as he was caught staring, but didn’t look away. Steve Harrington did, only to look back at the other male’s features a few seconds later. Their eyes met across the space of the well deck once again, blue meeting honey brown, and suddenly the space between them felt like a gulf between worlds.

Billy then saw a man, freckles covering his face, come up behind the pretty boy and grab him by the arm, only for the brunette to step back immediately. They argued for a moment before Steve stormed away, only for Tommy to follow a moment later, and their witness let out a deep breath he didn’t know he was holding until then.

“Forget it, _mon pote_. I would be less surprised to see you having angels flying out of your ass than talking to her.” Lilou said with a slight smirk as her greenish-blue eyes followed the couple storming away as well, sighing dramatically.

But Billy kept looking at the space where the prettiest boy he’d ever seen was still standing a few minutes ago, so deep in thoughts he couldn’t even hear the teasing of his friends right next to him.

**Maybe he wasn’t the King of the world, after all, for this boy was.**


End file.
